Coal gathering and loading apparatus for mine conveyers



Nov. 13, 41951 Filed Aug. ll, 194'? O. G. MYERS COAL GATHERING AND LOADING APPARATUS FOR MINE CONVEYERS 4 Sheets-Sheet l Os'cqr G. Myers By' awaaw.

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Nov. 13, 1951 o. G. MYERS 2,575,287

, COAL GATHERING AND LOADING APPARATUS FOR MINE coNvEYERs Filed Aug. 11, 1947 4 sheets-sheet 2 -fliiummmmul@ Inventor Oscar G. Myers aa/Azn. M510,

NOV. 13, 1951 Q G MYERS COAL GATHERING AND LOADING APPARATUS FOR MINE CONVEYERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. ll,` 1947l Diventa# oscar G. Myers By am Nov. 13, 1951 Fild Aug. ll, 1947 G. MYERS 2,575,287 COAL GATHERING AND LOADING APPARATUS FOR NINE coNvEYERs 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 F ig.6 /4 50 8/ 0 86 I 77 5/ 84 I 1 f4@ /5 .43

85 i s ivf-IAL E -bq "i o ll' ll ,I A .fr I /3 46 47 37,/ \l 36 52 Inventor Oscar G. Myers By @amg Patented Nov. 13, 1951 oFFlcE COAL GATHERING AND LOADING APPA- RATUS FOR MINE CONVEYERS Oscar G. Myers, Fairmont, W. Va. Application August 11, 1947, seriaiNo. 76s,o1 1

This invention relates to an apparatus for gathering loose or broken down coal from the oor of the mine and transferring it to a conveyor by means of which the coal is conveyed from the mine.

In the mining of coal in low vein mines, it is the common practice to blast and break the coal down in fragments from the face of thevein, and to then manually load the broken down coal onto a conveyor for delivery from the mine.

I am aware that machines have heretofore beenprovided to gather coal from the floor of a mine and to transfer it to cars for transportation from the mine. However, due to the fact that such machines and cars require a relatively large space vertically, their use has been. restricted to high vein mines.V It is my primary object, therefore, to provide a low built apparatus adapted for attachment to the mine conveyor ordinarily used to deliver coal from a low vein mine, whereby to convert said mine conveyor into a self-loading unit and to thereby eliminate hand loading of said conveyor. v

Another object is toY provide'an apparatus of the above kind which is capable of gathering coal across'thel entire working face and transferring it to the mine conveyor while said minewcon' veyor occupies a fixed position. A further object is' to provide an apparatus of the above kind which is convenient to operate and thoroughlyreliable and efiicient vin operation. These and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when considered with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a coal gathering and loading apparatus embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a view of the machine shown in Figure- 1, partly in side elevation and partly in section, taken on line 2--2 of Figure 1';

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line 3-3 of Figure2;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional viewV of the gathering head taken'on line L -4 of Figuref; Figure o' is afsection taken on line 5`5 of Figure4; i .i y

Figure 6lis an enlarged vertical transverse sec; tion taken on line 6 6 of Figure 2,;

Figure 7 is an enlarged vertical transverse section taken on line 1-1 of Figure 2; i

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic plan view 'of 'the apparatus 'illustrating the way in `which the gathering head "loading conveyorsfmay 'be swung horizontally relative to the mine conveyor.

Referring in detail to the drawings, 5 indicates a section of an ordinary chain and scraper conveyor commonly used in'low vein lines to deliver coal from the working place to a point outside the mine. This section includes side members or walls 6 connected by a transverse partition l. At its forward end, the section 5 has a transverse shaft 8 provided with sprocket Wheels 9 around which the chains l0 of the endless conveying element of the mine conveyor are passed. As usual, the chains l!) are connected at intervals by transverse scraper bars or flights Il which, in the upper run of the conveying element, move the coal rearwardly along the partition l. The section 5 is suitably fixedly mounted at I2 upon a horizontal base plate i3"adapted to rest on the mineiioor.,

A chain and scraper conveyor I4 is rigidly mounted as at i5 in a forwardly inclined position uponva second baseplate l5 disposed Vupon and projecting forwardly of the front portion of base plate i3 and pivote'dcentrally of its-rear edge portion to the latter, as at il, forfhorizontal swinging movement. fheapp'aratus furth'erlin-f cludes a Ysecond 'chaih"'andscraper foon-veyor 'C having a substantially horizontallower' forward 'portion' i8; aA vs'liglf'itly'f inclined u'p'p e r 're'a'r portion is, and a more abruptly inclined intermediate portion 2d.' The rea'rpcr'tion iS'of this conveyor extends over and sli'dably'inounte'd at 2! 'upon 'the conveyor is for longitudinal movement rela'- tivetothelatt'en At its forward portion i8', the conveyor C is provided withV a' hollow'gathering'head 22 that extends across the front and along the sides of said conveyor portion ifandwhose topwall has outwardly'inclined front andside marginal portions 23 and 24, respectively, upwardly along which the coal may be moved to the portion I8 of the conveyor C. For moving the coal from the mine floor in front of head 22 along the front wall portion 23 and'onto the conveyor portion 18, laterally inclined coacting' rotatable gather-'- ing elements 25 and26 areprovided on the for'- Ward ends of the side portions of head .22. Simi?- lar laterally linclined frtatablegatheringelements 21 and `28 are provided on the'rear'ends of the side portions of head 22 andare adapted to co-act respectively 'with the elements 25 and 26 formoving the calfrom the mine door at the sides of head 22 along vthe side wall 'portions 24 and onto the conveyor portion I8. Each gathering element 'comprises inclined driven shaft l28' projecting upwardly` through the top front of the gathering head, the latter may bel fed forwardly to the coal by moving the conveyor C forwardly relative to conveyor :I-4. 'For this purpose, a screw jack is interposed between the head 22 and base plate I6. said jack including a base member 34 hinged at 3.5 to the rearof head 22 and threadedly receiving an end of a jack screw 36 journaled in a bearing 31 fixed on baseV plate I6, said jack screw' having a thrust collar 38 disposed against thefront of .said bearing 31. Means is provided vfor rotating the jack screw 36 in either direction tofseleetively retract or project the conveyor C. Such means includes a power driven shaft 39 havinga gear unit embodying oppositely facing and rigidly connected bevel gears 40 and 4I, slidably keyed thereon, said gears being disposed vat opposite sides of the bevel gear 42 xed on-the rear `end of jack screw 36. The arrangement issuch that when gear 48 is meshed with gear 42, the Yjack screw is driven in one direction, and when gear I4I is meshed with 4gear 42, said jack screw is driven in the opposite direction. A hand lever 43 'is connected by a link 44 and a Vlever 45 with the gear unit 48, 4| for manually kshifting the latter.

Mounted on the base plate I6 is arnotor 46 whose drive shaft is coupled at 41 to the transversely disposed drive shaft48 of a reduction gearing49 having a longitudinally disposed driven shaft 58. One end Vof transverse shaft 39 is operatively connected with the driven shaft 50 by means of gearings at yI and 52. As shown in Figure 3, gears 40 and 4I may be simultaneously disengaged from-gear 42 Yso as to discontinue Arotation of jack screw 36 `when desired.

Gearing is provided at 53 between the driven shaft 50 and the footlshaftof Vconveyor I4 for driving the latter.

Within the gathering head 22 at one side of l the conveyor-portion I8 is a longitudinally arranged shaft 54 whose rear vend is connected by universal joint 55 to one section of an extensible shaft `56. the-other section of which is connected by a universal joint151 with the forward end of shaft 58. The extensible shaft 55 permits the longitudinal adjustment of lconveyor C relative to conveyor I4 while maintaining the driving connection between shafts 58 and 54. The for ward end of shaft `54 vis geared at 58 to the foot shaft -59 of conveyor C for driving the Vendless conveying elementvof the latter.

Journaled within the front lportion of head 22 is a transverse shaft i60 Voperatively' connected at its opposite ends vby meansof gearings 6I and 62 with the shafts 29 of gathering elements 25 and 26. Another transverse shaft-63 is journaledin the yrear portion of head 2,2 and is operatively connected at its opposite ends by means of geari-ngs 84 and 65 with the shafts 29. of gathering elements 21 and v28. Journaled within the head 22 at the side of conveyor portion I8 opposite that at which shaftl 54 is located is a longitudinal shaftl 66 operatively connected at one end by 'gearing 61 with the adjacent ,end .of foot shaft 59 and at its other end by a gearing 68 with the transverse shaft 63. That gear of gearing 61 which is carried by foot shaft 59 also meshes with a further gear B9 carried on the rear end of a short shaft journaled in a bracket 'I0 adjacent the shaft 68. The forward end of this short shaft is equipped with another gear 1 I which may be selectively engaged by either gear 'I2 or 13 of a gear unit slidably keyed-'on shaft/F60, the gears 12 and 13 .being disposed at opposite sides of gear 1I as shown clearly in Figure 4. Thus, when gear 12 is engaged with gear 1I, the gatheringelements 25,and 26 may be rotated in a direction .togather coal from in front of head 22 onto conveyor portion I8. At this time, gathering element25 will rotate in a clockwise direc- .tion and gathering element 26 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1. The gathering velement 21 always rotates in a clockwise direction and the gathering element 28 in an anticlockwise Vdirection `as indicated inFigure 1. Whengathering .coal atthe sides of the head 22, the directions of rotationfof gathering element 25 and 26 are .reversedby engaging gear 1-3 with gear 1I. When this is done, gathering `element 25 rotates in an anti-clockwise direction and gathering-element 26 in a clockwise directionso as to respectively coact with gathering-elements 2'1 and '.2sfor moving the coal from the floor at opposite sides of head 22 upwardly along the wall portions 24 and onto conveyor portion .|8. This isfound quite important because when the coal is blasted or .broken .downmuch `of said coal accumulates Yat the sides of head 42'2. Moreover,y as the conveyor C is fedforwardly to vfeed the head 22 into the .coal at the front of the machine, additional coal is located at the sides of head 22 which must be loaded onto conveyor portion I8. For shifting thegear unit 12, 13,.a pull and push bar 14 is slidably extended through the rear of head22 to a point adjacent the front thereof, and the forward-end of rod 14 is operatively connected to a shifting lever 15 pivoted at 16 within the head .22 in front of the unit Y12, 13.

When loading coal onto the conveyor portion I8 from the mine floor at the sides of head 22.

Vit is necessary to swing the conveyorC and head 22 laterally to feed the gathering elements 25 and 21 and 26 vand 28 to thecoal. This is permitted by the pivot at I1, and power operated means is provided to swing the conveyor .laterally in either direction. For the latter purpose. a transverse shaft 11 is journaled on the base plate I6 and has winding drums 18 and 19 journaled on the opposite end portions thereof. Clutches are provided at 8D and BI to selectively clutch either desired one of the drums 18 and 19 to shaft 11. Operating means, generally indicated at 82 and 83 are provided respectively for the clutches 88 and8I, such means being operable from the same -side of the apparatus. One end of shaft 11 is operatively connected to motor 46 by a longitudinal shaft 84 and worm gearings provided at 85 and 86 respectively between the rear end of shaft 84 and the .drive shaft of motor v46 and theiforward end of shaft 84 andshaft 1-1. A cable .87 is wound on drum =18and a similar cable 88 is wound on drum 19. These cables .are respectively extended forwardly and around idler or guide pulleys 8 9 Vand 98 :mounted on the head 22 at opposite sides of conveyor C. The free ends of these cables 81 vand 88 are .extended laterally outwardly in opposite directions from the pulleys 89 and 98 as sown for connection with the mine jacks ,anchored .between thereof and the floor of the mine at opposite sides of the apparatus. Obviously, therefore, when cable 81 is wound Von drum 18 and anchored to a jack, the conveyor C will be swung laterally in one direction, and when cable 88 is wound on drum 18 and anchored to a jack the conveyor C will be swung laterally in the opposite direction. Generally speaking, this is a common expedient in connection with different types of mining machines and needs no further description herein.

Assuming that the apparatus has been operatively associated with the mine conveyor in the manner described, and that the gathering head 22 is located adjacent the working face, the coal is blasted and broken down in the usual way. Motor 48 is then suitably placed in operation so as to drive the conveyors I4 and C and the gathering elements 25 to 28 inclusive, the gear units 12 and 13 being positioned as shown in Figure 4 so as to drive the gathering elements 25 and 26 in the directions indicated by the full line arrows in Figure 1. At this time, the gathering elements 25 and 26 move the coal from the mine floor in front of the gathering head 22 rearwardly onto the conveyor portion I8, and the gathered coal is then transferred rearwardly to the mine conveyor by the conveyors C and I4 in an obvious manner. As the loading operation proceeds, the conveyor C may be moved forwardly to feed the gathering head into the coal by engaging the proper gear 40 or III with gear 42 and thereby driving the jack screw 36 in the proper direction. When the coal has been gathered in front of the gathering head, the conveyor C may be swung laterally first in one direction and then in the other direction to gather the coal from opposite sides of the head 22 onto conveyor portion I8. At the latter time, the directions of rotation of gathering elements 25 and 26 is reversed as indicated by the dotted arrows in Figure 1, such reversal being effected by engaginggear 12 withgear 1I and disengaging gear 13 therefrom. The manlner in which the conveyor C is swung laterally for this purpose has been previously described. From time to time,the apparatus may be bodily advanced as the mining operation proceeds, the mine conveyor being suitably extended by the insertion of additional conveyor sections therein. By proper location of jacks in front ofthe apparatus, the drums 18 and 19 and cables 81 and 88 may be utilized to bodily advance the apparatus. Of course, at the start of each new loading operation, the conveyor C may be retracted relative to conveyor i4 by operation of the jack 34, 3S, the jack screw 36 being rotated or driven in a direction reverse to that in which it is driven to advance the gathering head during a loading operation. If found necessary, a suitable pan or hopper may be provided on the conveyor section 5 so as to insure that the latter will receive the coal from conveyor I4 regardless of the angle at which said conveyor I4 is swung relative to conveyor 5.

From the foregoing description, it is believed that the construction, operation and advantages of the present apparatus will be readily understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art. Modifications and changes in details of construction are contemplated, such as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention. what is claimed as new is:

1. In combination with the receiving end of an endless low-vein mine conveyor adapted to convey coal from a working place into a point outside the mine, of a low-built gathering and loading apparatus for said mine conveyor comprising a first base plate adapted to rest on the mine floor and having said receiving end of the mine conveyor fixedly mounted on the rear portion thereof, a second'base plate pivoted on and projecting forwardly of the front portion of said rst base plate for horizontal swinging movement, and apparatus for gathering coal from the mine oor and transferring it rearwardly onto said receiving end of the mine conveyor, said apparatus including an endless rear conveyor rigidly mounted on said second base plate and extending over the receiving end of the-mine conveyor, anendless front elevating conveyor provided at its frontend with a gathering head 'and having its rear portion extending over and slidably mounted'on the forward portion of said rear conveyor for longitudinal movement relative to the latter, gathering mechanism carried by said gathering head for gathering coal onto the forward portion of said front conveyor from the front and sides thereof, power operated means to move said front conveyor forwardly and rearwardly relative to said rear conveyor at will, and driving mechanism lfor said front and rear conveyors and said gathering mechanism including a motor mounted on said second base plate.

2. In a loading apparatus, an elevating conveyor mounted for horizontal swinging movement, a gathering head carried by and extending across the front and along the sides of the forward portion of said conveyor, front and rear rotatable gathering elements mounted on each side of said gathering head, means for driving said gathering elements and for reversing the direction of rotation of the front gathering elements whereby coal may be selectively moved thereby from the mine floor onto said forward portion of the conveyor either at the front or at either side of the gathering head, and means to swing said conveyor horizontally in either direction at will.

3. In a loading apparatus, an elevating conveyor, a gathering head carried by and extending across the front and along the sides of the forward portion of said conveyor, front and rear rotatable gathering elements mounted on each side of said gathering head, means for driving said gathering elements and for reversing the direction of rotation of the front gathering elements whereby coal may be selectively moved thereby from the mine floor onto said forward portion of the conveyor either at the front or at either side of the gathering head.

4. The construction dei-ined in claim 3, wherein each gathering element comprises a rotatable disk, and a plurality of gathering arms projecting radially from and pivoted on the disk for vertical swinging movement.

5. The construction dened in claim 3, wherein said gathering head is of hollow construction and includes a top wall having outwardly inclined front and side portions, each gathering element including a laterally inclined rotatable disk and a plurality of equally spaced gathering arms projecting from the disk and pvoted at their inner ends upon the latter for vertical swinging movement, the driving means for the gathering elements being operatively geared to the latter within said gathering head.

6. 'I'he construction defined in claim 1, wherein said means to move the front conveyor forwardly and rearwardly comprises a screw jack interposed 76 between the gathering head and said second base plate `:ind including a rotatable jack. scremand, driving connectionsbetween said. motor.l and Said jack screw including mechanism for reversingthe direction `of rotation; of said jack: screw.

7:. The construction dened in claim 1, in combination with a transverse. shaftljournaled on said second base plate and. operativelyv connected t0.4 said motor, winding drums journaled on opposite ends off said transverseshaft and locatedfat opposite sides of the rear conveyor, means to selectivel;r clutch either desired winding drum to said transverseshaft,guidelpulleys mounted at opposite sides-of and adjacent the forward portion of said front conveyor, and cables Wound on said drumsand extended forwardly therefrom around said guide-pulleys A:and then laterally outwardly from the latter Yfor attachment to fixed jacks., whereby Windngof the. cables on said drums may relative to the first base plate.

OSCAR G.

REFERENCES CITED ATlfiefollowing references are of record in the. file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,449,088 Burnell Mar. 20, 1923y 1,569,209 Shanaberger' Jan. 12, 1926 1,576,042 rEstep "7.--., Mar. 9,v 1926 1,790,957 Morgan Jan, 21, 11931, 1,828,751 sinelburrV v oct. 23193; 2,334, 6o5 Carthage e-.. Nov.. '16, 194; 

